Cross Face intro #1 - V
Hello! My name is V, I use they/them pronouns, and I am a 21-year-old wrestling fan from Ohio (the most memed state, help us all). I'm mostly a fan of TNA and local independent shows, with a preference for watching women in wrestling.
What got me into wrestling?
I have always known of wrestling through action figures and popular culture (John Cena was unavoidable in the 2010s), but my first experience actually watching wrestling was when a highlight clip of Asuka in NXT came up in my YouTube recommended list. I don't know what it was that made me click on the video, maybe it was Asuka's eye-catching appearance, but as soon as I clicked on that video I was hooked. The storyline of her undefeated streak and her feud with Ember Moon (now Athena) hooked my fandom-wired brain in an intense way. All I had known about wrestling beforehand was an image of masculinity, to see women be, quite frankly, badass was something I couldn't get enough of.
From there, I was mostly a NXT fan who would catch updates from YouTube and from whatever links I could find. I fell out of watching during the pandemic but came back around 2022. I got majorly into TNA and the Knockouts division around late 2023 and started going to my first live shows in 2024!
My favorite wrestlers right now?
In no particular order; Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly, and Rosemary are the wrestlers that I enjoy a lot right now. Storytelling in wrestling seems to be a big topic online right now, and I would recommend anyone arguing online over it to check out Masha and Kelly as a team (MK Ultra) or to peek at the years of development that have gone into Rosemary as a character. I was a big theatre nerd as a kid and that appreciation for the dramatic has stuck with me, which I guess explains my favorites pretty well.
My match recommendations?
Off the top of my head, I would recommend the dog collar match between Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly at TNA Against All Odds 2023 and Asuka vs Ember Moon at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III. Both are really awesome culminations of intense feuds where all parties put everything out on the line.
What is wrestling to me?
For me, wrestling is closer to a performing art than a sporting competition. It's an athletic drama at its core. It's endlessly interesting in just history and depth alone- you could spend hours researching one person and not even scratch the surface of their life's work. Beyond that, wrestling is an interest that has brought me so many incredible friends and lifelong memories through being a fan of it. Even with the emotional ups and downs, I hope I can continue to be a wrestling fan for years to come.